Exploring Kefalonia, 2017

Writing this post it feels like this beautiful sunny holiday was something I did last year, rather than last month! The summer is going by so quickly, how are we a week into August already?!

In July I jetted off to sunny Greece. We stayed in Kefalonia, which is an Island in the Ionian Sea.

It’s a beautiful island, that isn’t super touristy like Kos or Zante, and is famous for its meat pies and beautiful beaches. Both of which we took full advantage of…

The Villa

We stayed in a beautiful villa in Old Skala. It was about a 40 minute,(very hot and hilly), walk to the centre – but luckily we had a car if we needed to get there quickly.

The villa was up in the hills and had amazing views out to sea. There were goats wandering around everywhere, and one night I lay awake listening to the sound of their bells as they walked past our villa, convinced they were going to get in and destroy the garden!

We had our very own infinity pool to cool off in and a shaded terrace area for eating.

We spent a lot of time relaxing by the pool, playing bat and ball, reading and sunbathing.

There was a BBQ area too, so we enjoyed using that one night.

The villa also came with it’s very own pet, a cat whom we called squeak! Usually I’m a little bit wary of cats that I don’t know , but this was the most laid back cat I’d ever met. She loved getting her tummy scratched and made a funny squeaky cry a lot of the time which is how she got her name!

Activities

We didn’t just lie around all holiday though! On one day we went on a kayak excursion.

Photo Credit: Outdoor Kefealonia

We kayaked for 10km round the coast in double kayaks. It was so much fun!

We got to see little coves and beaches that you can’t usually reach by car.

Photo Credit: Outdoor Kefalonia

We also went into some caves. The first ones were so dark and you had to duck down really low so you didn’t hit your head. There were bats flying around as well!

The second cave had an opening in the top, so the centre was lit up and it looked so magical. We held some sea urchins and got to paddle round the area for a bit.

We stopped off at a beach for lunch and a had a few stops later in the afternoon to cool off and have a swim!

Photo credit: Outdoor Kefalonia

We got dropped back in Skala very tired, tanned and happy that evening!

If you go on this trip I really recommend the company we went with, Outdoor Kefalonia. They were well organised and the owner dropped us back in Old Skala himself. Make sure to bring lots of water, hats, suncream and a t shirt to cover up though!

We also took a boat out for a day. You can go down to the beach in Skala and there are lots of different companies who offer different types of boats and deals.

Hiring a boat for a day gives you a lot of freedom to explore coves and different beaches.

We took some lunch with us and spent the day swimming and snorkelling.

I just love the colour of the water in Greece, it is so beautiful.

The Food

So I mentioned Kefalonia is famous for its meat pie, so of course we had to try it!

It was really good! All the Kefalonians we met said that their recipe for it was the best, but I recommend trying the one at The Flamingo .

We also had lots of Baklava which is one of my favourites! It’s layers of pastry, nuts and honey and is so sweet and yummy.

They had so many cocktails to choose from and there was a really fun, relaxed vibe going on.

My favourite place to eat was Kelari Taverna. It’s a bit of a trek to get up to it as it is in the hills, but I can promise you wont be disappointed. The views are incredible and the food brilliant! Luckily our villa wasn’t very far so we could walk there easily, but there is plenty of parking around or you could get a taxi if you needed.

I can’t wait to come back to Kefalonia. The people are so friendly and the island is beautiful – a perfect summer holiday!